Big Girl Panties

by Stephanie Evanovich

[kimbacaffeinate]

Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich wasn’t something I would have picked up, but I am ever so glad Avon Books sent it to me. Evanovich is a Jersey girl like me and I fully connected with her witty humor, and her fleshed out flawed characters. It is a tale of personal growth, romance, and misconceptions. I found myself completely swept up in this easy flowing tale. Three word review: witty, romantic, enlightening.

Here is the set-up. Holly Brennan is a thirty-two year old widow who ate her way through her husband’s terminal illness and subsequent death. She boards a plane heading home and finds herself seated next to Logan Montgomery. Logan is personal trainer for famous athletes and completely shallow, caring more about his image and career. He is repulsed, she makes witty comments regarding her weight and slowly the two begin to chat. He decides to help transform this witty woman, and she accepts his offer and hires him. The tale that unfolds will have you laughing, sighing, and wanting to slap a few people.

Ooh these characters will get under your skin. You will run through a host of emotions ranging from anger, love, and inspiration. Logan and Holly are equally flawed and run in completely different circles. In his world it’s all about looks and image. Logan has closes friend, but he has never really forms personal attachments or develops intimate relationships with a woman. Logan is in his element as a trainer, he knows how to push his clients, and really cares about making them the best they can be. The man is drop dead gorgeous with dimples and a smile. He dates woman who reflect his image of health, physical fitness and glamour. In other words he is a douche. Holly has so many self-esteem issues, but she also has drive and determination. She struggles with self-worth and using snark and wit to cope. While Holly is not a classic beauty she has this spark and her eyes dance when she delivers her zingers. These two are flawed but both have redeemable qualities that endeared them to me. The relationship that develops grows out of respect, trust, and friendship.I loved their banter, and those heated moments that had me rooting for them. Chase and Amanda Walker are clients and friends of Logan. These two helped with back-story, engaging the couple and adding a little humor with their spanking antics.

Big Girl Panties is a contemporary romance at its core but it’s also a touching, realistic look at two flawed individuals and their personal journey. From the outside world Logan appears brilliant, confident and successful and oh so superficial but as the author peeled back his layers we found something more as he struggled to reevaluate himself. Holly has self-esteem issues and is trying to crawl back out of the bag of Funyun Rings she crawled into. Her weight is just one symptom of her issues and I enjoyed watching her become more confident and demand more for herself. I got caught up in the tale, rolled my eyes over the Walkers antics and sighed when the pages heated up. The author takes us into the minds of the characters and displayed their flaws to us in all there awful glory. It was at times raw and I found myself angry at the characters for their behavior and at other times I felt their fears.

Fans of Bridget Jones will enjoy the sassy romance and humor that Big Girl Panties delivers. I could totally see this on big screen as it screams “movie”.

Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer